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Post by Bob on Dec 17, 2005 11:22:56 GMT -5
My guess is that Gainey will do nothing on the trade front until after the Christmas freeze. He will want to see how the team responds to the return of Kovalev and Koivu. He will also want to give Komisarek and Souray more time to recover from the personal setbacks they have faced.
In the meantime he and Julien will have more time to evaluate the young talent on the team. That will give him more time to determine whether these young players can handle a bigger role on the team.
I also think Gainey has a lot of compassion for his players and doesn't want to disrupt players lives unecessarily over the Christmas break.
All of these factors point to waiting a bit longer before any dramatic changes are made.... if they are made.
But then again, Gainey never tips his hand and may surprise all of us.
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Post by M. Beaux-Eaux on Dec 17, 2005 12:25:44 GMT -5
Agree—a reasonable assessment.
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Post by franko on Dec 17, 2005 12:30:44 GMT -5
My guess is that Gainey will do nothing on the trade front until after the Christmas freeze. But then again, Gainey never tips his hand and may surprise all of us. Spoken like a true politician. Are you sure you are from Saskatoon and not Ottawa? ;D |
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Post by Doc Holliday on Dec 17, 2005 15:05:27 GMT -5
With Koivu and Kovalev back, there will be less pressure on Gainey to deal and his plan might very well be to get as close to the deadline as possible and pull the same kind of stunt he pulled when he got Kovalev.
IMO though, player assessment is done. Both Julien and Bob by now know who's who.
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Post by MC Habber on Dec 20, 2005 3:12:39 GMT -5
IMO though, player assessment is done. Both Julien and Bob by now know who's who. Quite possibly. However, I do think that Gainey wants to see how the team as a whole responds before making final decisions about what kind of players to bring in. I think I'm in a small minority here, but I'm still optimistic about this season. |
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Post by Doc Holliday on Dec 20, 2005 12:38:54 GMT -5
IMO though, player assessment is done. Both Julien and Bob by now know who's who. Quite possibly. However, I do think that Gainey wants to see how the team as a whole responds before making final decisions about what kind of players to bring in. I think I'm in a small minority here, but I'm still optimistic about this season. Considering how incredibly well they did when everybody was healthy, I think you have a point. but... If the return of Kovalev is what propels this team back into being competitive, than obviously we rely too much on one guy. |
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Post by Habs_fan_in_LA on Dec 20, 2005 12:43:46 GMT -5
IMO though, player assessment is done. Both Julien and Bob by now know who's who. Quite possibly. However, I do think that Gainey wants to see how the team as a whole responds before making final decisions about what kind of players to bring in. I think I'm in a small minority here, but I'm still optimistic about this season. I too am optimistic. The best players on the team are young and improving. We aren't getting blown out. When we lose, it's lack of effort, not lack of speed. Negative Komisarek, Souray and Hainsey are not turning out to be the Robinson, Lapointe, Savard trio we hoped for. Positive The Hainsey distraction is gone, Komisarek is big and learning his craft, albiet slowly. Souray has the ability and needs to focus. Markov is playing well. Dandenault skates well and needs help to shore up his defense. Bouillion is adequate when paired with the right player. Not much that a big aquisition couldn't fix. Negative Our forwards can't put the puck in the ocean from the end of a pier. Positive We have some guys who lack a scoring touch. We are not Ottawa but we can craft a team that wins low scoring games. Negative Theo is not a $5Million dollar man. Positive Theo is a better than average goaltender. Danis has a better record and stats than Theo. Price and Huet are in the wings. Goaltending is not the Hab's problem. We need 100% effort to win. The coach has to motivate the players to emulate Begin, Murray and some nights Koivu. Ribeiro, Ryder and Dagenais can be effective, but they need to work and not wait for goals to be handed to them. Dags knows what he has to improve and he is running out of time and teams to prove he's worth more than NHL minimum wage. Hossa is gone and his promise is replaced by Kostitsyn the underachiever. He gets another year before he is bypassed by his brother. Chipchura, Locke and Latendresse will be competing for positions next year. Sundstrom and Bulis will have a tough time keeping their jobs. Gainey has some cap room to manouever. Thornton would have been a great addition. Tampa may have to trade St. Louis or some team will make a quality forward available before the year is out. The Hab's are in the playoffs and if Danis or Theo gets hot we can ride their tails to challenge. Soon we'll be cheering for Team Canada. |
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Post by M. Beaux-Eaux on Dec 20, 2005 16:23:33 GMT -5
Quite possibly. However, I do think that Gainey wants to see how the team as a whole responds before making final decisions about what kind of players to bring in. I think I'm in a small minority here, but I'm still optimistic about this season. Considering how incredibly well they did when everybody was healthy, I think you have a point. but... If the return of Kovalev is what propels this team back into being competitive, than obviously we rely too much on one guy. Luckily the load hasn't fallen on Theodore's shoulders. |
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Post by MC Habber on Dec 20, 2005 16:29:10 GMT -5
Quite possibly. However, I do think that Gainey wants to see how the team as a whole responds before making final decisions about what kind of players to bring in. I think I'm in a small minority here, but I'm still optimistic about this season. Considering how incredibly well they did when everybody was healthy, I think you have a point. but... If the return of Kovalev is what propels this team back into being competitive, than obviously we rely too much on one guy. Well, the slide actually started just before Kovalev's injury (they lost his last 2 games). Also, while Koivu played 7 games after Kovalev left, he was already seriously hampered by his groin injury for most (if not all) of those games. So really, the Habs were missing their 2 best players for most of the slide, and they've had a ton of other injuries. It's not just Kovalev, although I'm sure his return will give them a big boost. And as for relying too much on one guy, the Avalanche have had a great team over the years... as long as Sakic wasn't injured. |
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Post by Habs_fan_in_LA on Dec 20, 2005 16:33:25 GMT -5
Considering how incredibly well they did when everybody was healthy, I think you have a point. but... If the return of Kovalev is what propels this team back into being competitive, than obviously we rely too much on one guy. Well, the slide actually started just before Kovalev's injury (they lost his last 2 games). Also, while Koivu played 7 games after Kovalev left, he was already seriously hampered by his groin injury for most (if not all) of those games. So really, the Habs were missing their 2 best players for most of the slide, and they've had a ton of other injuries. It's not just Kovalev, although I'm sure his return will give them a big boost. All teams have injuries. Ottawa replaces injured players with hardworking original equipment replacement parts that do the job. It's harder to replace hardworking skilled Senators who go down than to replace mediocre underachievers. The Corel Center has the only hardworking Senators in the city of Ottawa. |
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Post by MC Habber on Dec 20, 2005 16:38:11 GMT -5
Well, the slide actually started just before Kovalev's injury (they lost his last 2 games). Also, while Koivu played 7 games after Kovalev left, he was already seriously hampered by his groin injury for most (if not all) of those games. So really, the Habs were missing their 2 best players for most of the slide, and they've had a ton of other injuries. It's not just Kovalev, although I'm sure his return will give them a big boost. All teams have injuries. Ottawa replaces injured players with hardworking original equipment replacement parts that do the job. It's harder to replace hardworking skilled Senators who go down than to replace mediocre underachievers. The Corel Center has the only hardworking Senators in the city of Ottawa. I'd like to see how the Senators do without Heatley and Spezza and a handful of other regulars. Of course, they do have the advantage of world-class goaltending. |
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Post by MC Habber on Dec 20, 2005 20:17:53 GMT -5
All teams have injuries. Ottawa replaces injured players with hardworking original equipment replacement parts that do the job. It's harder to replace hardworking skilled Senators who go down than to replace mediocre underachievers. The Corel Center has the only hardworking Senators in the city of Ottawa. I'd like to see how the Senators do without Heatley and Spezza and a handful of other regulars. Of course, they do have the advantage of world-class goaltending. Actually, losing Heatley and Alf would probably be a better comparison because Spezza would probably disappear the way Zednik does without Koivu and Kovy. |
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Post by Bob on Jan 2, 2006 16:42:25 GMT -5
This is a key week for the Habs. Atlanta is warming up, New Jersey has stayed in contention and has Elias returning soon, Florida is 7-2-1 in its last ten games.
The Habs need to pick up at least four points in these games or there are going to be a lot of people screaming for action. If that action isn't happening on the ice, it could happen off the ice.
I don't know about making a trade but at the very least, the alotment of playing time could change.
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Post by Yeti on Jan 2, 2006 17:28:49 GMT -5
Latest update in relation with this thread.
Stop / Nothing Happening/ Stop
Please make sure to check the next update in 7 days.
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Post by Bob on Jan 2, 2006 18:56:38 GMT -5
Latest update in relation with this thread. Stop / Nothing Happening/ Stop Please make sure to check the next update in 7 days. Looks like the first step has been taken with the callups from Hamilton. It's not like there is a flurry of games over the next two weeks so we don't need a boatload of players right now. Something else brewing? |
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Post by franko on Jan 2, 2006 19:51:08 GMT -5
All teams have injuries. Ottawa replaces injured players with hardworking original equipment replacement parts that do the job. It's harder to replace hardworking skilled Senators who go down than to replace mediocre underachievers. The Corel Center has the only hardworking Senators in the city of Ottawa. Another difference is coaching. Murray isn't afraid to call these guys out or to remind the vets that they have to play hard. CJ just keeps throwing the vets out hoping they'll smarten up while benching the rooks to remind them they need to smarten up. If Martin were still here I don't think the Sens would be scoring as much as they are now. |
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